Backgrounds FAQ for Employers

Why do you need copies of business license or Articles of Incorporation to set up my account? My company will only request criminal histories, employment and education verifications, and maybe driving histories. I’m not using credit reports. Why does your staff keep bringing up the Fair Credit Reporting Act? In some cases, I will need credit data. If I have already sent you my business license or Articles of Incorporation, why do you need send someone to inspect my business? When we received your Service Agreement, we also received a "Summary of Rights,” a “Notice to Users” and other requirements in the Service Agreement itself. Who should read all these documents? "Adverse Action notification." What’s that and what do I need to do? I want to establish a company policy that will prevent anyone with a criminal record from being hired; can you help me do that? Can you help me identify reports that contain information that needs special review? What is “Safe Harbor” certified? I sometimes hire foreign nationals. Is the background process different outside the U.S.? What does it mean if you are unable to verify an employer or claimed education? When do you stop trying on a verification request; what is a “quality attempt?” What is your turn around time? What is a typical background and how much does it cost? How do place an order and then how do I receive results? We have a policy to rescreen our employees on a periodic basis. Can you help us manage that? Form I-9’s seem to change periodically, required documents expire, tracking and audits are very difficult. Also, I am thinking about signing up for E-Verify, but then my record keeping doubles! Do you have a solution? What exactly are access or statutory fees?

Why do you need copies of business license or Articles of Incorporation to set up my account?

We have both legal and contractual obligations to know our clients, the kind of business in which they engage and how the information we supply might be used. This is required to protect consumers and their personally identifiable information that could be used to commit identity theft.

My company will only request criminal histories, employment and education verifications, and maybe driving histories. I’m not using credit reports. Why does your staff keep bringing up the Fair Credit Reporting Act?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is one of many federal and state laws that govern what we do. It always applies when a Consumer Reporting Agency, (in simple terms a company that provides information about a consumer for a fee), provides any kind of background report, even when no credit data is reported.

In some cases, I will need credit data. If I have already sent you my business license or Articles of Incorporation, why do you need send someone to inspect my business?

We have a contractual requirement to obtain an onsite inspection report from an independent and approved third party when certain confidential and personally identifiable information is provided to a business. The site survey itself is painless, will be handled professionally and swiftly, and is designed to ensure that a business is the kind of business it reports to be, has a legitimate need for the information, and that it has the proper facilities in place to protect sensitive data.

When we received your Service Agreement, we also received a “Summary of Rights,” a “Notice to Users” and other requirements in the Service Agreement itself. Who should read all these documents?

The Service Agreement outlines some important legal responsibilities you have beyond the terms and statement of work. In it, your company has certified that it will follow the guidelines of the FCRA, that it will maintain access security, that it will not resell any information we provide, and that it has a stated permissible purpose for our reports. All users should be aware of this certification.

The “Notice to Users” is a document provided by the FTC that we must provide to you so that you are informed of your obligations under the FCRA. Everyone who has access to our data should read and understand the “Notice to Users.”

The “Summary of Rights” is another document prepared by the FTC, and it is intended for your applicants on whom we run backgrounds. We recommend that you provide a copy to each applicant when you present them with the Disclosure and Release form for the background, but you are required by law to provide a copy of it and the actual background report to any applicant or employee who has been denied an employment benefit, (job offer, offer for a specific position, promotion or retention), in whole or in any small part as a result of a background report that we provide to you.

“Adverse Action notification.” What’s that and what do I need to do?

Whenever you deny an employment benefit, (job offer, offer for a specific position, promotion or retention), you are taking “adverse action.”

When you are taking adverse action in whole or in part as a result of a background report that we provide, you are required to provide a pre-adverse action notification of your intention to deny the benefit, (along with a copy of the report and the Summary of Rights), and then, if the report is not disputed or the dispute is not substantiated, a notice that you have taken the adverse action. The FTC legal staff has declined to offer advice regarding how much time should be between the 2 notices, but it is generally agreed that there should be sufficient time for the applicant to receive the notice, review the report and register an objection. How much time that is may depend on how the applicant is notified. We make it easy for you to comply.

As you view a report in our secure Web system, you can click on a link to print out a personalized pre-adverse or adverse action letter ready for your letterhead, complete with enclosure information to remind you to include a copy of the report and Summary of Rights. Your reports can even be set up to always include the Summary of Rights for one-click printing.

I want to establish a company policy that will prevent anyone with a criminal record from being hired; can you help me do that?

No! You should seek legal counsel when drafting your employment policy, but as a general rule, hiring managers should consider the following tests when evaluating reported criminal behavior: 1) Is it serious enough to matter; 2) Is it recent enough to matter; 3) If it is recent and serious enough to matter, is it relevant to the position, and; 4) Is it likely that the applicant did it? (Usually answered by a court disposition).

If the answer to any of the 4 questions above is “no,” then social policy and legal guidance require employers to give that applicant fair consideration.

Can you help me identify reports that contain information that needs special review?

Yes. We will automatically flag reports with criminal reports or employment and education verifications that contain potentially derogatory information, or information that does not match what the applicant supplied. In our software, these reports will be flagged and show up in red on your reports list screen. We can take that a step further by offering a Preliminary Adjudication Service. In that service, you provide us with your guidance, by research element type, of how you would like reports to be flagged, and we will review each element to flag them according to your specific company guidelines. Clients often ask about this service when they want to provide review help to hiring managers and to ensure legal and consistent review of background reports.

What is “Safe Harbor” certified?

The European Union has passed data protection laws to protect its citizens against unauthorized access or careless handling of personal data. Companies that are Safe Harbor certified have registered with the U.S. Department of Commerce and have agreed to abide by the EU data protection laws, and to be held accountable to appropriate commissions for the safe handling of data from signatories. Many countries around the world are adopting data protection laws substantially similar to the EU. We are Safe Harbor Certified.

I sometimes hire foreign nationals. Is the background process different outside the U.S.?

Very. Each country has its own laws defining what is “public record,” who may be entitled to information that is not public record, how data may be requested, stored or transferred, and even the rights of, or restrictions on employers or educational institutions asked to verify information. And it is all subject to change without notice. But don’t fret, we can help. If information is legally obtainable in a country, we have the resources and proper forms to walk you through the process.  Call on us if you have a specific country need.

What does it mean if you are unable to verify an employer or claimed education?

If we report that we unable to verify claimed information, it may mean that the company or school has no record of an individual, or it may mean that we have exhausted quality attempts to contact and we were not able to get in touch with anyone who could comment on the applicants claimed experience or credentials.

If there is no record of the person, our report will clearly state those findings, the information we attempted to verify and the person to whom we spoke.

If the claimed experience or job is legitimate, the most common reasons we are unable to verify are: Company or school out of business, company or school closed for an extended period, company or school telephone number incorrect or changed, and company or school name or address abbreviated or incomplete and we are unable to locate it. Also, if the dates provided are inaccurate, or the applicant had a legal name change of which we were not informed, the responding official may look in the wrong set of records.

In the case of a claimed employment, it may be true that the individual worked at the company when claimed and performing the function as claimed, but worked as a contractor or temp labor on another company’s actual payroll. Many issues can be cleared up by seeking clarification from the applicant.

When do you stop trying on a verification request; what is a “quality attempt?”

A “quality attempt” is a communication attempt by telephone, fax, email or other means that can reasonably be expected to make contact with an official at the school or institution who will respond to a verification request, or that confirms that attempts to contact will be unsuccessful. For example, a single “ring, no answer” is not a quality attempt. The same result repeated multiple times at the same time of day is not a quality attempt. Three attempts made on 3 different days and 3 different times that all yield a “ring, no answer” is a quality attempt. In the case of a missing phone number or a known bad number, we have not completed a quality attempt until we attempt to find a “good” number through phone book and Internet research. If we are still unable to find a number, we will contact you or your applicant to request a better number. If, after 3 days we still have not developed a working number, and we have done our research and reached out in some fashion to the applicant, we will consider that a quality attempt and close that verification element.

Sometimes our requests will locate someone who asks for a copy of the diploma, the release, or other information with a promise of completing the verification. We will follow up when directed to, and continue follow up for at least 3 attempts on 3 different days. If the official has become unresponsive during that time, we will close the verification. In all cases, any positive promise, contact or result, will “reset the clock” and we will continue to work the verification for an additional 3 attempts on 3 different days. Once the element has been closed, if we receive new information from the applicant, or the responding school or employer, we will re-open the verification element and report the results.

We work hard to complete all verification requests, and we do that for less than you might pay for an average restaurant lunch, but “verification” is not an “investigation.” When verification service does not provide the answers you need, we can provide the references you need for investigative resources.

What is your turn around time?

There is no “right” answer to that question as it depends on a number of factors. Those factors include scope and depth of background, domestic or international searches, completeness of information provided, courthouse staffing, and sometimes even weather or local disasters. The real question is “how long should a company allow in the hiring plan for a completed background?” We recommend that you plan for 3-5 business days. Will it take that long? Probably not. An “average” domestic background with employment verifications is currently completed in less than 2.5 days, but backed up courts, revealed records, and slow employers or schools can push that number higher. It is better to plan for a longer time than to always expect a shorter time and be disappointed.

What is a typical background and how much does it cost?

There really is no such a thing as “typical” background. Background scope (the elements that need to be verified) and depth (how many years back) should be carefully crafted to match the position to be filled. For example, you would not need to research driving record history for a receptionist, but you certainly need to for a delivery driver! Contact us and we will help you design a background package for review by your legal counsel. Once we both agree on the scope and depth, we can provide a competitive price for your consideration.

How do place an order and then how do I receive results?

Most of our clients prefer to use our secure 24/7 Web-based system. Users are prompted through the order process and have access to Web-based help materials and documents. Results can be retrieved through the same system. For your convenience, we can also set up your account so that you receive an email with a result link when a report is complete. If you are using an applicant tracking system, we can work with your IT to build direct integration. And, of course, there is always a fax option for our clients who request it.

We have a policy to rescreen our employees on a periodic basis. Can you help us manage that?

Yes, we can. Your account can be set up to trigger a recurring rescreening reminder in as many months in the future as you need. If an employee name shows up in your rescreening list, you can either order appropriate searches with just a few mouse clicks, or if rescreening is no longer desired for that individual, click to take him or her off that list.

Form I-9’s seem to change periodically, required documents expire, tracking and audits are very difficult. Also, I am thinking about signing up for E-Verify, but then my record keeping doubles! Do you have a solution?

We can help. We offer an electronic Form I-9 solution that is constantly updated to keep up with any changing requirements, simplifies the form completion process, stores all your records electronically, including scanned copies, and provides tools to help you stay on top of expiring documents. Optionally, with a single click, appropriate data can be sent to the E-Verify system and we can help you with that as well. Call us for more information.

What exactly are access or statutory fees?

Some information providers, all departments of motor vehicles, most state criminal repositories, many courts and even some employers and schools, charge a statutory or information access fee for the research or verification that we request. Since we live in a mobile society, and no one can predict where your next applicant has been, it would be unfair for us to build those fees in automatically. What we do instead is to pass through those fees when encountered, without markup. In the resources menu on the left of this page, you will find links to many of those anticipated fees.